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“The texture of the shortbread, the light sweetness, and classic flavors… just so delightful! This has become one of my very favorite cookies!” ~Valerie
peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are my signature shortbread cookie
They’re closely followed in popularity by my Double Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. I’m not surprised, after all, when was the last time you saw a cookie that intensely chocolaty? But there’s something magical about the epic combination of creamy peanut butter and chocolate that lures people in every time.
These cookies have a melt-in-your-mouth texture thanks to the creamy peanut butter and their shortbread base. They’ll even stick a wee bit to the roof of your mouth…better have a cold glass of milk ready.
these peanut butter cookies are made with a short list of ingredients:
- creamy peanut butter ~ I don’t recommend using natural style peanut butter for this cookie, the consistency tends to be oily. Personally I think the best pb is Jif.
- butter ~ unsalted and at room temperature
- flour ~ all purpose
- sugar ~ confectioner’s or granulated sugar, both will work.
- kosher salt
- chocolate chips ~ use milk, semi sweet, or dark, it’s up to you. I love dark chocolate with peanut butter.
slice and bake cookies are a favorite around here
Who wouldn’t love to have a log or two of cookie dough hanging out in their fridge?
You can get all the measuring and mixing and messy hands out of the way early and then have the luxury of fresh dough waiting at your beck and call. Let me put it another way: when you’ve got this dough in the fridge you’re 12 minutes away from nirvana.
If you want to try a rolled dough version of these, try my Milk Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
tips for success with peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
- Make sure to start with room temperature butter. This helps the dough come together smoothly.
- Measure your flour carefully. I fluff the flour first to loosen it, then scoop the measuring cup and level it off. This helps insure you get an accurate measure and not too much flour, which will affect the quality of the cookies.
- I make the dough in a stand mixer, this helps the dough come together with less effort. If you’re doing it by hand, take the time to mix the dough until it comes together and there is no dry flour left.
- Use regular, creamy peanut butter, not natural peanut butter. I use Jif.
- If you have trouble with the dough crumbling when you slice it, this can be due to the chocolate chips. I just form any broken slices back into shape on the cookie sheet. It helps to use a very sharp knife, and you can also try a sharp serrated knife to cut through the chips. You can use mini chips which will solve the problem, but I prefer the taste of the big chunks of chocolate. To skirt the issue altogether, roll out your dough and cut with a round cookie or biscuit cutter.
- If you make smaller cookies (i.e. more than 10-12) adjust the baking time, it will take slightly less time for them to cook.
- Expect these cookies to have a shortbread texture, which is to say delicate, and very buttery. They aren’t the same as a regular chewy or cakey cookie. Shortbread has a distinctive texture resulting from the combination of butter, sugar, and flour, without egg.
chocolate + peanut butter is a dynamic flavor duo
The simplicity is part of the charm of these cookies, you really get to taste the pb and chocolate, which is the main reason we make them in the first place 🙂 If you’re a fan of the combo, join the club:
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bread
- Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (important!)
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (I like Jif)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar Note: you can also use granulated sugar.
- scant 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips of your choice, milk or dark
Instructions
- Cream the butter and the peanut butter together in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or a wooden spoon. Make sure to get the butter and peanut butter completely combined and creamy. Beat in the vanilla.
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt and mx until the dough comes together and is no longer dry.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, and turn the dough out onto a piece of waxed paper. Gently pull the dough together and form it into a log. If it is still crumbly, work it with your hands until it holds together smoothly. Roll it up in the paper, smoothing the shape as you go. Twist the ends securely and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. The log will be roughly 7 1/2–8 inches long.
- While the dough is chilling, pre-heat the oven to 350F
- Slice the log into slices with a sharp knife. Not too thick, not too thin, about 1/2 inch. If a slice crumbles a bit, just smoosh the dough back together. These don’t have to be perfect disks.
- Bake on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet at 350F for about 12-14 minutes, depending on how thick your cookies are. The cookies will not be browned, and they may look undone, but don’t over bake. One of the joys of shortbread cookies is that they fall apart and melt in your mouth.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.
Video
Nutrition
don’t forget to pin!
Hands down these cookies were the best melt in your mouth shortbreads ever…. I trippled the recipe, and im glad i did, these cookies were gone in two days. This will always be my go to recipe for shortbread cookies. Thanks for the scrumpdidallyumtious recipe!! 5 Stars.
Thanks SO much Debbie ~ these are pretty much my favorite cookies, so it’s great to get a good report on them 🙂
These were delicious. I wasn’t sure I’d love a peanut butter shortbread because I love the texture of a chewy peanut butter cookies. And cookies for me are all about texture. But these were wonderful.
Mine did crumble quite a bit while slicing, not whining just saying, fact of shortbread life. But after baked were a nice sturdy cookie.
I made them exactly according to your recipe, and I weighed the ingredients.
YUM!!
Can I leave the peanut butter out?
Yes, Gale, but you will need to adjust the recipe. Here’s a link to my Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Shortbread, and you can use any type of chocolate chips you like: https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/bittersweet-chocolate-chip-shortbread/
Can I use unsalted margarine ? We have dairy allergies
Yes I just made them and they turned out awesome!
Yay!!
Oh and I only refrigerated for about an hour and baked at 350 for 10 mins! I rolled mine out to about 1/2 in thick and used a heart cookie cutter. It held perfect shape and taste.
Did you adjust anything when you substituted for the butter? I have a dairy allergy as well and often use Crisco, but sometimes it requires a recipe alteration.
I would suggest my flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies as a good substitute for these, if you have a dairy allergy ~ https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/flourless-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
These look yummy!
Hmm these look delicious, thanks for posting up this recipe, looks quite simple to make.
Simon
I just made these for a ‘moms night in’ I’m going tonight. I had no problem putting the dough together and they turned out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing a great recipe.
I’m so glad you like these, Naoko, it’s one of my signature recipes!
I did not have crumbly dough once all the Ingredients were mixed. If you whip the butter and peanut butter till it goes very light and fluff your flour before measuring makes a big difference. I also found the trick to not have it crumble when cutting the roll into slices was to leave the roll wrapped in the parchment paper. Just cut through the parchment paper, this way your chocolate chips don’t move around and force the to give way.
Thanks Renee, I haven’t tried the parchment trick!
Enjoy